2012 Beanie Awards: Vote for your favorite dramas of the year

Can you believe it’s December already? I know the awards shows have started to come ’round again, but it always feels like This Time Of Year always sneaks up on me — as in, the time when we take a look back at the best, the worst, the weirdest, and the most surprising dramas of the past year.

Our so-called Beanie Awards have been a tradition on this site pretty much since the beginning, and you can take a look into the wayback machine to see the state of years past. Here’s the 2007 Polls, 2009 Polls, 2010 Polls, and 2011 Polls.

You know what else this means: We’ll be rolling out our annual Year End Review Extravaganza in the coming days and weeks as well! Keep an eye out for our reviews, and if you’re curious at past installments, here’s a Year In Review tag for your convenient browsing purposes.

December 3, 2012 at 3:31 PM

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It was so hard to pick for best drama this year. I either really liked it or really hated it. Very few middle ground.

My vote for that category went to Gaksital, QIHM, and the 3rd one was so hard to pick but it eventually went to Padam Padam. Others that could have easily been on this list for me was History of a Salaryman, Answer me 1997 and What's Up.

But despite the weirdess that was Dr. Jin, DH2 is STILL the worst drama imo of the year. I lasted half the first episode. As for the worst hairdo, you might as well have put all the leads for Full House 2

And when I saw the Time Machine one, the first thing I thought of was the Tardis...but wait!wrong country lol

December 3, 2012 at 3:48 PM

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The descriptions are HILARIOUS!
I choked on air at this: "Best King: Fashion King: Ironically, of course. Though I do have the best Rolexes."
Funnily enough, even though this year had some amazing dramas, and actually my fave (Gaksitaaaaaal was just too good), the question I struggled with was the WTF drama of the year. There have been some truly crappy dramas this year. Ended up going with Dr. Jin though. Chose the Gummy Bear for the last question too LOL.

Anyway, I'd just like to say thank you to the writers, and the regular commenters here at DramaBeans. I've been watching dramas for two years, and I'm so glad I found this site. I have very few people I can talk to about dramas, and the ones that do watch it have (in my opinion) awful taste in them. The polls show how a lot of us have similar taste, as my answers are a lot of people's answers too. So, even though I don't always comment here, it's great having a place I can go to for my drama gossip and chat. Weirdly, I feel like I know some of you here. Thank you for adding to my drama experience and making it so enjoyable (you guys saved me through Dr.Jin). Keep up the great and hilarious work! :)

December 3, 2012 at 4:05 PM

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WOW
<3
Going through this poll made me realize how many amazing dramas of all sorts there were in dramaland this year.
Although in the end (maybe because it just wrapped), Nice Guy managed to collect most of my votes. :P
Although I feel like if this poll were in a month, King of Dramas would sweep for me, at the rate it's going.

December 3, 2012 at 4:22 PM

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Wow! I'm surprised K2H isn't as up there along queen in hyuns man or answer me in favorite drama.
I guess it all boils down to taste, but i thought DB was most alive during the K2H era -- explosive thread.

December 3, 2012 at 7:13 PM

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Hehehe it's fun to see all of us "leftover Hearties" who still can't move on xD I've been waiting for this poll since May honestly LOL

But I agree that since the drama aired in the first half of the year and other really popular and good dramas came after (Namely Gaksital, Nice Guy and AM1997 who were both a hit domestically and internationally), K2H fared pretty well in the poll. It's still my favorite of the year, but I do get why the dramas who are sweeping the poll are in those positions.

December 3, 2012 at 8:49 PM

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My thoughts exactly. I can still remember the time when the recap was just up and not even a couple of minutes passed, the comments are already in the 50s. Those were some crazy times. Loved every moment of it. :)

December 3, 2012 at 9:53 PM

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Yes! Good times, indeed. Towards the last few eps, 2k comments were pretty much standard. We couldn't stop spazzing about it, right? And the comments were pretty long and very insightful. I think K2H still has the record of having the most comments ever in Dramabeans.

December 4, 2012 at 6:35 PM

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Yup. Haha.
Now that i think about it, it definitely was a mania drama.
Not as popular, but the people that loved it were such lovely and passionate individuals. *sigh*
I want that time again, ahha.
Here's to hoping 2013 brings a show that's as riveting as K2H in my heart.

December 5, 2012 at 6:03 AM

December 5, 2012 at 2:21 AM

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Yes, definitely the most spazzed and discussed drama in the history of DB I think! I just loved the highly intellectual and insightful and also witty comments! Missed them so much, guess what? I'm re-reading the recaps and comments again!!!!

Well fellow Hearties, there's always next year and I hope that we'll meet again in Seunggi's new drama, The Gu Medical Book!

December 3, 2012 at 9:54 PM

December 3, 2012 at 4:50 PM

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Is it me or it's a tough choice this year? I watched most of the dramas and it is really hard to decide. My favourite is Gakstikal, I love everything in the drama but not so the couple love story. I am not into the couple and seeing the vote, I think everyone also think pretty much the same. Queen In Hyun's man, Kim Bong Do is my favourite character of the year, what a player he stole my heart too. If I live in Joseon era I think I wont mind being one of his concubines. and the third one is a Answer me 1997, being a kpop fan myself that girl is a mentor. I wish it is a top 5 and I can add the king 2 heart and flower boy band too. I always love a badass heroine and a hot guitarist in a band that also sings ballad. what about Lee min Ho oppa? Now that what I call a big disappointment. Even with my love ( alot ) to Min Ho oppa, I cant love the drama.

December 3, 2012 at 5:45 PM

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yeah I know, I watched the drama till the end though I only read recaps in the middle.But in the drama I only saw choi young always look like he's head over heels with Eun soo but she always refrain herself from falling for him. they were too busy saving each other's live and send her back to modern time that we only have romantic scenes close to the end.

December 3, 2012 at 9:35 PM

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Agree. I felt their chemistry from the very beginning (Yes, I know she stabbed him right off the bat. Minor detail.) I really think she raised the stakes for their dynamic on screen to work, and for me, it did. Loved their scenes together gah! (Add a wudalchi or two for bonus scenery!)

December 3, 2012 at 5:59 PM

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Aw man, yeah! But then I thought about how I didn't even finish A Gentleman's Dignity and how Kangto/Shunji were so messed up/sad *cry*. In the end I went with Shut Up! since they touched me the most with their friendship and love of music and they were really sweet and awesome.

December 3, 2012 at 5:24 PM

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Maybe it's just me, maybe I have a slight drama fatigue, but this year has been somewhat - not disappointing - just slightly underwhelming, I guess? QIHM, Answer Me and Gaksital, for example, were solid, and King of Dramas is shaping up to be good, but there was just so much wasted potential it makes me want to cry. :( There were also dramas that left good overall impressions, but were just so throughly flawed (don't want to give examples)...Still, there were some really great, original characters this year that were sometimes better than the dramas they were part of - eg. the couple in K2H, the badass plastic surgeon in Faith, or the caring beta male in IDID.
Finally, on a completely different note, the bromance jokes nearly made me fall of my chair. Thanks, girls!

December 3, 2012 at 6:44 PM

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my first time voting. i think it is a good year for drama. for one, it got me watching Kdramas which i stopped cos of the sob-fest impressions. So this year's dramas are a nice spread and change for me.

December 3, 2012 at 7:05 PM

December 3, 2012 at 7:06 PM

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Tons of great dramas this year like History of a Salaryman which I didn't expect, Nice guy, King2Hearts, Gaksital. Also for those that haven't watched Padam Padam give it a go. I don't think it got the attention it deserved.

December 3, 2012 at 7:23 PM

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As for me, there has been only two dramas that really stuck onto me this past year.

Beginning of this year, January, Shut Up Flower Boy Band. Everything about it was amazing - the acting, the bromance, the teen angst, the underdogs. I think we can all relate to it because we as human beings can get lost and wander for a while before we really and truly find that something that sparks us to continue to live.

& then there was Gaksital. Nothing I say can even describe how amazing this drama was. All I know is that it TOPPED my top three. I also think that Nice Guy was pretty amazing too along with Arang.

I tried watching Moon/Sun and did eventually finished it but... somehow I just didn't get into that crazed but of course, I watched every single episode because of MY JUNG IL-WOO.

December 3, 2012 at 8:41 PM

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i haven't watched a lot of dramas; but so far my best choices goes to Nice Guy, Answer Me 1997, and The Moon that Embrace the Sun. looking forward to watching King 2 Hearts, Rooftop Prince, and Missing You :D:D

December 3, 2012 at 9:24 PM

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The hardest category for me to decided was the bromance one...

And lol @ Mane of Shame, "Hwang Jung-eum: What’s your excuse?" No, really. What was going on in the mind of her stylist??? I agree with every single comment of yours in that category.. I kept asking myself the same thing when I watched those.

December 3, 2012 at 9:34 PM

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Dramas I watched (or tried to watch) this year:

Dr Jin (dropped after 10 mins of first episode) - just couldn't believe anything could be this bad.

The Chaser - super underrated amongst the online English-speaking crowd, probably for want of more "famous" actors. Plot was very intense and you would never know who was going to win - the balance kept tilting until the last episode *but* the finale was pretty rushed. I still love Haera and all the dysfunction in the chaebol family, but the scenes with the cop-dad were sometimes too emo for my taste. Best parts of The Chaser: acting, suspense and the dialogue.

Queen In-hyun's man - really cute story. Love the time-travel device.

Faith - *sigh* So much potential.

Moon/sun - After the episodes with the child actors, I fast-forwarded to Kim So Hyun's scenes. Somehow he just lights up the screen. Okay, I mean, sets it on fire.

TK2H - THIS. I see this as my personal discovery of 2012. Never really paid attention to it until ep. 5 recaps were posted here, then gave it a shot. Got totally, hopelessly addicted. I found it to be very rich and original, with themes of hard power (Bong Gu) versus soft power (The king), persistence, vulnerability being the foundation of cooperation, and with unique characters I never thought I'd see in a K-drama. Also discovered LSG's amazing acting, especially in the later (darker) episodes. Bonus: nice ending. Would rather Shi Kyung have lived but bittersweet endings stick a lot more. It has been months and I still have a deep impression of this show. OST was great too. Taeyeon, K-will and that instrumental piece "Two hearts". You have to look them up on youtube if you haven't heard these tracks!

December 3, 2012 at 9:40 PM

December 3, 2012 at 9:42 PM

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I hate melos. Famous for that, so I skipped them, especially when there are logic errors for the sake of dramatic tension which makes me lose it and automatically hit the back button before I know what I'm doing.

That means I skipped QIHM after I was 1. bored stiff with the first episode and 2. Fell asleep during the second and third episode. Blech. Acting wasn't there for me. I kept trying to direct the thing.

Nice Guy I lost it after several logic errors.

Love Rain, I plain skipped. I don't like the director.

Several dramas fizzled except for The King2Hearts. (Which should get most illogical title of the year), History of a Salaryman, I Need Romance 2012 and Answer Me 1997. They all delivered on their promises in interesting ways.

This does not mean that I disliked Faith or Arang and the Magistrate. I just think the endings were a bit hamfisted and could have delivered better. I know I'm upset when I'm making up better endings. Live Shoots.

Biggest Fizzle was Moon Sun where I thought that the novel was better and much more atmospheric and I also thought that the child actors were better than the adults.

I watched pretty much all of the Historical dramas except Gakistal. Again, not into melos and again, tried the first two episodes and was looking elsewhere. Not my type of drama.

Horse Doctor still feels like rewatching Dong Yi. As if Dong Yi had a long lost brother. I wish the writer would push herself as she did on other projects.

Queen Insoo, I know no one is really watching, but I kinda like that.

King of Dramas is the one I'm particularly watching for. And hoping it won't screw up. Jeon Woochi is the other drama I'm watching... though the plotting in the first two episodes is scattered.

Answer Me 1997 was pretty much a perfect drama with no lag, it just needed to work out the daddy issues earlier (I figured it out by Episode 7--the cellphone scene v. the coffee was my tip off), so I put that as a solid 1.

History of a Salaryman is 2. Tight scripting and acting to the very,very end.

The King 2Hearts is 3.

For spot number 4... I'm not sure, I'd put in Runningman, which would win the number 1 spot if they got (I know I'm hammering this) Yoon Eun Hye. Not a drama, but their making fun of dramas was some of the best work.

I Need Romance is probably 5 or 6. I wanted to strangle the grandmother in that, but that wasn't an option on the list. People also disliked the ending because they were "I need to know" but I thought that was a stronger statement, and for being that brave as well as having a DECENT Adopted person in it for once, that's not emoing and angsting all of the place, it needs to be in the top ten list for the bravery over social issues it raised.

December 3, 2012 at 9:48 PM

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Oh and I'd probably be the only one that actually got and *liked* the ending of Big. Well me and two other people.

In addition, I actually recognize it's not the best Hong Sister's drama, BUT I rather see a half failure trying new techniques in writing than to site through same old boring *cough* Horse Doctor *cough* plot devices because the writers are afraid to try something new.

Sp for the most courageous in the industry award goes to the Hong Sisters (funny ones). They tried to fix the problems that Dramabeans often complains about and Dramabeans hated the guts out of them trying exactly what they asked for...

*claps*

Oh and I wish Korean dramas would stop lying about abortion being illegal in Korea. It isn't. Two dramas lied about it this year.

December 3, 2012 at 11:21 PM

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For the what on earth?!? catagory I had such a hard time picking! I scrolled down and I was like, that one! Oh wait, that one was ridiculous too! Oh wait...that one was awful, and so was that one!!! There were some great ones and some just crazy ones this year. :P Certainly got a kick out of reading all the descriptions. :D

December 4, 2012 at 12:08 AM

December 4, 2012 at 12:39 AM

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Oh dear... I most definitely spent more time laughing like a crazy person than actually voting. The descriptions, I just can't... xD I was going to quote here some of the ones that had me laughing for a whole few minutes, but that'd make this way too long.

But in the end, I'd say these two dramas were the "it" dramas for me this year:
Queen In-Hyun's Man
Answer Me 1997

And these were plenty good as well, just not the whole way through:
King 2 Hearts
Nice Guy
Gaksital
King of Dramas

Anyway, super excited to see the results in the end. Thanks for an awesome year, Dramabeans. (: